Mountain West once tried to get Texas schools

New Orleans Bowl

When: 6 p.m. Dec. 17

Where: Superdome, New Orleans

Who: SDSU (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)

TV: ESPN

Before the Big East Conference came calling this year, the Mountain West conference tried to strike its own deal with Houston and Southern Methodist, according to e-mails obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The Mountain West “contacted Houston and SMU last spring/summer about the possibility of joining the conference,” said an e-mail last month from San Diego State Athletic Director Jim Sterk. “They were not interested at that time and they are still not interested.”

Though it’s not big news anymore, the revelation adds another “What if?” moment to the history of college conference realignment.

What if Houston and SMU had first decided to join the Mountain West? Would the Big East have died off in football? Would SDSU and Boise still have decided to leave the Mountain West?

We might never know. But it was never really likely because the Mountain West couldn’t offer the same money that the Big East is promising for the future. In the Mountain West, the TV money is only about $1.5 million per member per year. In the Big East, media consultants have told new members it will be at least $6.4 million.

Houston and SMU announced this week they are leaving Conference USA for the Big East in 2013. The SDSU and Boise State football programs also are leaving the Mountain West for the Big East the same year.

Houston and SMU previously were speculated as expansion candidates of the Mountain West almost every time the Mountain West lost a member, especially when Texas Christian announced it was leaving in November 2010.

After discussions Big East discussions started heating up this fall with Houston and SMU, the Mountain West and Conference USA decided to merge their two leagues for football.

Houston and SMU didn’t want a part of that either.

Bowl practice: SDSU resumed practicing Friday night in preparation for the New Orleans Bowl against Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 17. Starting center Alec Johnson was held back because of a possible broken foot but is still expected to play. Starting linebacker Jake Fely (high ankle sprain) is back at practice.

SDSU also got in about 10 minutes of scrimmaging for young players.

Big East recruiting: SDSU’s move to the Big East will give the Aztecs a boost in recruiting certain players, head coach Rocky Long said.

Previously, as members of the Mountain West, SDSU would recruit players from California but lose out on many prospects who wanted to play in the Pac-12 or other so-called BCS leagues such as the Big 12. Now SDSU is joining a BCS league with access to more lucrative bowl games.

“Now all of a sudden with a California, other than the Pac-12, (the Big East) puts us on even footing,” Long said. “It gives us a lot more to fight with.”

Long said the Aztecs still might lose recruiting battles to the Pac-12 because that league has a stronger following in California. But even if the BCS ceases to exist as we know it in 2014, the Big East is expected to get a more lucrative TV package that promises more national exposure – another recruiting boost.